Rolling bearing slewing connections of the pre-cited type are known in the prior art. The textbook “Die Wälzlagerpraxis” (Rolling bearing practice), Vereinigte Fachverlage GmbH, Mainz 1995 teaches that rolling bearing slewing connections of the pre-cited type are used as pivoting bearings for the support of excavators, cranes and in the field of automotive vehicles for articulated buses and streetcars, i.e. in fields of use in which, in a limited design space, high loads occur and where a high degree of operative safety is demanded. These slewing connections can take up axial forces, radial forces and tilting torques. Such slewing connections are further used in medical technology, robotics and military engineering.
These pivoting bearings are configured as four-point bearings which are particularly well-suited for supporting tilting forces on a small cross-section. Joints of industrial robots and other bearing applications that overtax the bearing capacity and rigidity of ball bearings are preferably equipped with cross roller bearings. These bearings comprise a crown ring filled with rollers with an approximately square cross-section and roll in alternation on offset axes on the rolling raceways. Such pivoting bearings are disclosed, for instance, in FR 2 594 174 A1 and in DE 15 25 140 A1.
As already mentioned above, such slewing connections are also used in the medical field and are mounted as disclosed, for example, in DE 36 27 517 A1, in so-called ceiling tripods or supports. It is common knowledge in this connection that, due to the transmission of data through electric leads or due to the transfer of liquids/gases through tubes, the angular displacement between the two rotating parts must be limited. This is necessary in order to prevent damage to the stewing connection through a twisting of the electric leads or the tubes. FIG. 2 of FR 2 693 102 A1 discloses a ceiling support which makes it clear that the supply ducts for medical gases or fluids through tubes should not be damaged by twisting.
Stops used in this technical field are known to the applicant. These are realized, for instance, in that stoppers that are used in both bearing rings serve as displacement limiters and prevent a twisting of the bearing rings relative to each other by coming to bear against each other when a certain angular position has been reached.
A drawback of this solution is that such mechanical limiters of angles of rotation do not allow the bearing rings to rotate through an angle larger than 360°, but this is required in many cases of use.